Thanks for your comment. I suppose regarding hard link/soft link issue - probably there won't be a difference in implementation, all links will be soft. Unfortunately, the current data structure in Checkvist does not allow hard links, because each item is coupled with its list. Of course, there will be an indicator where the 'master' item is located in UI.

Often if you have a complex structure it is needed to show same items or same branch in few places (different contexts). Not showing link to other item/branch, but show their actual content.

Currently we have to copy items for this and it is hard to maintain them as you have to edit item is many places.
Hard-links for items symlinks for branch should solve this problem — you edit item in one place and all other instances updated.

But there will be needed some indication that item has other instances, and probably some warning when editing.

Bump because this would be an amazing power feature. My use case is I would love to use this to make a mega list, allowing me to get a total overview of everything. Another case is it would allow me to email in new items to specific nodes in my list or share specific nodes. The more nodes and lists can become interchangeable, the more powerful features can become.

This is the one thing I want most. Checkvist is an amazing tool and has kept me much more organized, but this feature would allow for some amazing opportunities for collaboration and organization. I haven't upgraded to the Pro version of checkvist yet (although that may change with the winter sale), but this would make it an insta-buy. And I would likely get my entire department at work to use it.

I see this was suggested a long time ago, and I'm sure there are good reasons for it not being implemented yet (complexity, higher priority tasks, etc). I don't pretend to know or understand the reasons, but I hope it is still in the pipeline. You guys are making a great product, keep it up.

Jonathan Sheller had a similar request, with many more details which was declined and pointed here instead. I prefer Jonathan's description but assume as it was considered similar then the implementation of this which you do will work is his suggested manner, and then it has my vote :)
His was titled:
Embed existing lists/sublists, not just hyperlinks (similar to symlinks)

Still holding out hope for this feature. The ability to effectively embed nodes within other lists, symlink style so that they're the same data element and are "synced" (i.e. if someone edits the sub-items in the Node which is in list A, those edits will also show up in the identical Node which is embedded in list B since it is one and the same Node, just displaying in two places). I think it would be a real killer feature.

This is a fantastic idea. It makes a lot of sense for collaboration, e.g. if you are building up a complex knowledge document. Different team members could work on different areas of research, and then a master document could be composed just using inline, dynamically embedded outlines.

Somebody mentioned that this might bloat Checkvist into a full-on project manager, but I disagree. This feature need not have any significant effect on the software design, or your workflow, if you opt not to use it.

+1 for this one. my use case: I often have hard time deciding whether to have items as subitems of 'xx' them into separate lists.

Really, they are often subitems of a big list. But that big list may have so many items that organizing it becomes very painful. When I find an item I want to move, I then need to search for the parent item I want to move it under. So I end up 'xx'ing the parent items, so they can easily be moved things under. But here I lose flexibility: I now have to move explicitly to the new lists to view their contents, and they are now out of context.

So being allowed to show contents of a linked list inline would help me get the best of both worlds: give me quick move targets 'inside' the current list, and see everything in context.

I would like to expand on this great (and under-appreciated) feature: this could be used to create a "master" Checkvist that referenced all one's other Checkvists. Why? The "master" checkvist could have a description of the purpose and context of each checkvist and/or a summary.

"Yes, please!" to nesting. The ability to subset one list into another would really compliment the extract feature, and I could really use it right now for creating summary lists that I can then share selected pieces (the extracted/nested parts) with others

So far, I cannot name any estimates when we will start working on this - but definitely not before the coming winter. Not because we don't consider it important - but because there are more important tasks we have to solve.

This would be the killer feature that makes checkvist better than all other. There is the feature of focusing, but that would sort of require many of my lists to be moved to a single list. And it doesn't allow sharing sublists, like previously described.

Kirill asked to merge the other feature request, so adding my notes & use case to this thread for public comment/feedback:

Embed existing lists/sublists, not just hyperlinks (similar to symlinks)

Rather than simply linking to a list/sublist, which embeds a hyperlink in my existing list, a real killer feature would be to actually embed that sublist in my current list. This would be have a lot like a symlink, with the key feature being that if I edit something in the sublist that edit is reflected everywhere in Checkvist that that sublist appears.

And I also have another bucket list, which is organized around Activity Type as follows:
- Natural Wonders
- Rafting trips
- Caving trips
- Diving trips
- Sailing trips

What I would really love to be able to do, is embed the Puerto Rico Caving sublist (in the 1st list above - Geographies) into the "Caving" section of the second list (Activity Types) above. This allows me to enter more information and flesh that sublist out further, regardless of whether I'm currently thinking along Geography or Activity Type. Changes are reflected in both.

At a meta-level, this allows lists to go beyond 1 "hinge" of data. I can effectively organize my information across 2 criteria/dimensions, rather than being limited to 1 (I can organize specific information about caving in Puerto Rico so that it appears on my list of travel ideas organized by Geography as well as my list of travel ideas organized by Activity Type). More generally, this allows massive flexibility.

It will also form the backbone to some pretty amazing sharing features. For example, I could share a sublist with someone and instead of them having to view it as a "list", they could actually move it around within their own list structures. Maybe I share a specific Todo list with someone (i.e. fix site CSS) which has multiple sub-tasks. Instead of having to view this as a full list, they can actually take this and move it around their todo list (however they may organize it). Since all it really is, is a symlink to my subtask-list, any edits they or I make will sync.

Workflowy implemented something similar to this, focused only on sharing. They allow you to share a sublist with someone, and for them to move that sublist around in their own hierarchy with ease. What they have not implemented and what could be extremely interesting, is sharing that same sublist with yourself. This would allow you to move it around your own lists and hierarchy, so that even if a list item should appear in multiple places you don't have to duplicate it.

Implementation-wise, the only real hairy piece is circular references. I Imagine this is a nightmare for workflowy since their users just have one big mega-list. However, for Checkvist, it could actually be very easy: don't allow people to embed/symlink any lists of sublists within one List. Only allow symlinking/embedding sublists across separate Lists (full list objects).

In my opinion, this is the single last thing Checkvist would have to do to be a full-fledged collaboration tool (and not just an awesome individual tool). It allows people to share "todos", but not just full lists. If you get your data structure to support this, it will all me to, for example, share a task, including subtasks, (from a big project-list) with someone and allow them to organize it how they like within their own organizational system.

There are times where sharing an entire "project" or List with someone is what you want. There are other times when sharing a Todo (task) from that list is what you want. It also enables you to embed a sub-tree across multiple Lists, and have changes synced.

The idea is to allow a sublist to be embedded elsewhere in Checkvist. Changes to the sublist or it's children are reflected anywhere this sublist is embedded.

Profound implications for sharing, organizing, and de-duping across checkvist. Would love to hear whether this is what the original post of this idea intended, or something else. And, of course, what the checkvist developers think about it!